Understand Me
by jenniferalycexo
Summary: All human. Bella is leaving Forks and going to Dartmouth for college with her bear of a cousin Emmett. Bella meets the Cullens and the Hales. What will happen when Bella proves to be more than Edward ever expected ? CHAP4 UP! R&R please! :
1. Chapter 1

It's not like I was scared or anything, I mean, college starting, leaving behind my family, my ex-boyfriend (not that I was so sad about _that_). I was starting at Dartmouth, which being the first in my family to attend college, let alone and Ivy League, was a huge deal.

"So Bells, you ready?" my dad asked, he wasn't smiling, he didn't have any air of humor at all. In fact I thought he might have been trying to hold back tears. Aw, dear old Charlie was a softie after all.

"I'm really gonna miss you, Dad" i said. My mother and him were the only people that I was really sad about leaving. I'd never made many friends in high school, and the ones I did weren't exactly on my Top Ten Favorite people in the word list. It was definently time to move on, there was one person that I ever actually trusted from my high school, he was my world for a good year, but things didnt end well.

_-Flashback-_

_"Bellie, let's go somewhere and talk okay?"_

_We drove down to the millyard in Forks, it was our favorite place to go to hang out together. Many memories had been made here, and there was going to be one more._

_"Bellie, you trust me right?"_

_"Jake, if I didn't trust you, why would I be here?" he smiled a smile that set my world on fire, and he knew it._

_"Then why can't we?" I knew instantly what he was talking about and felt my face getting redder by the minute._

_"No, Jake. I'm not ready, I won't do it." I heard him growl under his breath, this was ridiculous._

_"You know what Jake, I'm _**sick**_ of having this conversation with you. Really. Either accept it or I'm done." I opened the door and got out of the car, tripping over my feet trying to stomp away. I could hear him yelling obscenities at me from the car and really, he should have known me better, because that made me even more upset. Nothing gets me more angry than someone telling me what a female dog I am, especially after asking me to do him for the million and tenth time. _

_"SHUT UP JACOB!" I screamed over my shoulder, still stomping away from him._

_I knew my way home like the back of my hand, and actualy got there about an hour, with Jake trailing behind me the whole way, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of giving me a ride home. The next day he showed up outside my house, expecting to drive me to school. Fat. Chance. I drove my own truck for the rest of the year. After a week of unanswered phone calls, avoidance in school, dirty looks, and flirting with anyone who would flirt back, Jacob finally cornered me in front of my house._

_"Bella, what the hell is going on?"_

_"What do you think?! I'm through Jacob. Now you _and _your hormones need to get the hell off my property and away from me." and I tried to shove my way into the house, he didn't budge._

_I looked up at him and all I saw was fury in his eyes, he drew his hand back and slapped me across the face. It hurt so bad, he gave me a bruise and sent me flying backward. Realizing what he did, he came to help me, spewing apologies all over the place._

_I held up my hand "No Jake. Go away." with the space in front of me I darted for the door and threw myself through it._

_-End Flashback-_

"Flight 786 boarding for New Hampshire."

"That's me." I said, trying to put on a brave face. After hugging both my parents, I turned around and left Washington and all it's rainy weather behind.

"you're in Meyer, room 420." said the smiling secretary, she seemed exhausted, but still pleasant. I felt pretty bad for the poor woman actually.

"Have a nice day, miss." i said, knowing how much most women hated being called ma'am. My mother had complained about it on many occasions. I turned back around, "Uhm, sorry but, which way is that?"

"Right next door, dear" the woman said, motioning to the building to my left. Thank goodness, it wouldn't be a long walk with my two ginormous suitcases. I walked over to the building, it was nice, and fancy, which I expected, but not exactly in the freshmen dorms. The elevator just barely held meand my suitcases, I had seriously considered sending each one separately, but decided against it. My dorm room ended up being all the way down the end of the hall, which from what I'd heard was a good thing, it meant the room itself was bigger. I opened the door to find a small black-haired girl pouting in front of her closet, or what I assumed to be her closet.

"Hi there, are you Alice Cullen?" I asked, the pout completely disappearing from the girl's face.

"Yes that's me! That must make you Isabella Swan?" I cringed at the use of my full first name.

"Yea, but please call me Bella, I really dont like Isabella." Alice laughed, running up and giving me a huge hug.

"We're going to have _such _a good time this year Bella !"

"We definently will !" I dont know what it was, but Alice just seemed like a genuinely fun person to be around, I knew we'd be good friends. She was bouncing around the room, doing whatever, as I dragged in my two suitcases.

"So where are you from Alice?" I asked.

"Port Angeles, yourself?" I stopped dead.

"Seriously? I'm from Forks!"

"Oh my gosh! That's too funny!"

"What are the odds right?" I asked.

We were both laughing and talking about life at home when there was a soft knock on the door. A very handsome tall blond boy was standing there with a very beautiful blond girl, they looked like brother and sister if not twins.

"Jasper!" Alice squealed, as she ran up to him and hugged him. The girl saw the look on my face and she mouthed to me "Boyfriend." Ah that makes sense, I smiled at her.

"Oh Bella, this is my boyfriend Jasper and his sister Rosalie Hale. Jasper, Rose, this is my new friend and roomate Bella Swan." A look of recognition flashed across Rosalie's face. "Are you by any chance related to Emmett Swan?"

"Yea, he's my cousin, on my dad's side." Rosalie laughed, "He's my boyfriend!"

"Oh my gosh, this really is a small world." said Alice, as she explained where I was from.

"You ladies hungry? We were about to get a bite to eat from the dining hall, Emmett and Edward are meeting us there."

"Wanna go Bella?" asked Alice.

"Of course, just let me grab some money." With that we were on our way to the dining hall. As we went to get our food, I grabbed a slice of pizza, some salad and a VitaminWater. I was walking towards the table where Alice and Rose were sitting when I forgot how to not fall and fall i did, it wasn't like it was new to me, but all the same it was unpleasant. As I prepared myself for the head-smack on the floor, two strong arms wound around my waist, and broke my fall, saving me and my food. As I looked up to see my rescuer, I found two emerald-green eyes staring at me.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the second chapter !

"Oh, um, sorry." I rambled, trying to make a coherent sentence.

"It's no problem at all." said the unbelievably gorgeous model of a man holding me, I mean if there was a legal limit for someone's gorgeousness, this guy would be a repeat offender of being over it.

"I'm Edward, Edward Cullen." he said, grinning. Good God could that boy smile. Oh wait, Edward!

"Oh, so you're Edward!" I exclaimed. He put a puzzled look on his face.

"That's him alright," laughed Alice behind me. "This is Bella Swan, my roommate. Bella, this is my brother."

"BELLA SWAN!" echoed a deep booming voice. Emmett. Of Course.

"What are you doing here ?!?!" yelled Emmett.

"Ears, Em. Be kind to my ears!"

"Sorry Bells, but I've missed you, I didn't know you made it here!"

"And that's my fault? Just because _someone_ was too blitzed at the Fourth of July cook-out to have a decent conversation with!" I accused, hitting his arm playfully.

"Well..."

"Yea, yea whatever. Let's get going huh?"

With everyone in tow we walked down to the dining hall, it was gorgeous. The walls were wooden up till about the 7 foot mark then the walls were white, with a white ceiling. It was really open and had an air of history that I hadn't encountered yet. There were so many different kinds of foods it was crazy. My mind was swirling so I just went with the simple choice, pizza, salad, and a coke, though I made a mental note to go back and try some of the eggplant parmesan on anther day.

"The food here's great." commented Emmett as he sat down with Rosalie, Jasper, Alice and myself.

"Is that why you bought out the entire cafeteria?" I asked. Emmett glared at me as I heard Rosalie and Jasper giggling.

"You know Emmett, I think I like your cousin." said Rosalie after calming down again. "You seem pretty spunky there Bella."

"Well I've never heard that one before, but thanks." I said smiling. How could these people possibly be so nice? They just met me!

"...And he strikes again." murmed Alice beside me.

"Huh?" I asked, confused. Just then Edward plopped down beside me, it took all that I had to keep my mind clear.

"Nothing." said Alice. But she gave me a look that said, _I'll tell you later._

"So Bella, how are you liking Dartmouth?" Edward asked. I thought I saw the rest of them roll their eyes, but I couldn't be sure.

"Well, considering all I've seen is my dorm room and the dining hall, it's pretty nice." I said. He smiled at me.

We kept up the idle chatter for about an hour, the rest of the group talking amongst themselves. I found Edward to actually be pretty interesting. He actually had opinions and ideas. It was quite a change from the other astoundingly gorgeous people I'd met, granted, there'd only been one...

"Coming you guys?" chirped Alice, looking at us questioningly.

"Of course, let's go." I answered. Edward walked beside me and every few seconds would look over at me, the look on his face was close to smug. It confused me, but we were heading back to mine and Alice's room, so I'd be out from under his gaze momentarily.

"Well this is our stop." I said as Alice and I walked into the dorm, Edward was still there.

"Mind if we all meet up for dinner?" asked Jasper. Alice and I nodded, said our goodbyes and closed the door.

"Something you wanna tell me Alice?" I asked.

"Not just yet." I looked at her, my eyes full of questions. "Dont worry, you'll figure it out, you seem like a smart girl. Anywho, tell me about Forks High..." And that was how it went for the rest of the day, talking about nothing and sharing laughs. Alice was actually a very smart girl, she seemed driven and kind, again I got that feeling that I wouldn't have a problem being good friends with her. A light knock came on the door.

"It's open!" I called. Rosalie stuck her head in.

"You guys about ready to high-tail it out of here?" asked Rose.

"Absolutely." we said. So all three of us went down to the dining hall where we met the boys. Edward sat next to me, again. It was strange but I was starting to get that feeling that I used to have when Jacob was getting impatient with me. It made me wary of him, but he was so kind and smart, I couldn't help but feel comfortable around him. The appraising looks from Alice started up again. This time when we got back to the room I was definently going to get whatever she was thinking out of her.

"Bella, would you like to come with me for a walk?" Edward was looking down at me, somewhat expectantly.

"Uhm, Sure Edward, why not?" Alice shot me a look, I didn't know her very well but it seemed to be something like a warning glance, but I couldn't be sure. I looked back to Edward and got caught in his emerald-green eyes again. We walked out the door and into the warm night air.

"Nice night." I commented, feeling Edward's gaze on me, it was making me squirm. Edward put his arm around me and to tell you the truth, I liked it, like I the way I was made, fit into the way he was made. Edward looked over at me.

"You're very beautiful, Bella." Edward said. I felt my face get hot, and I knew my face was getting redder by the minute.

"Thanks Edward, you're not so bad yourself." Okay, so what if I was flirting? He was attractive, it happens! But what I didn't expect was Edward leaning down and trying to kiss me. He got closer by the second, and there was a part of me that wanted him to so bad. But there was a larger, stronger part of me that knew this wasn't right. We'd just met today, and no matter how much he dazzled me, we couldn't do this, not now, not here, not with only having two conversations. No. It wasn't going to happen. I pulled away and saw his eyes getting wide.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"What are you doing Edward?" I asked, I was almost angry, but it decreased a little every time I saw those eyes.

"What do you think I'm doing? Trying to kiss you." like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Edward, I just met you _today_. Don't you think that's a little quick? What kind of girl do you take me for?" Suddenly it clicked, this wasn't the first time he'd pulled a trick like this on a girl. He'd done this before, to many girls probably, judging from the look Alice and everyone else had given us. How could I have been so stupid?

"You know what Edward? I'm going back to my dorm now. I'll see you later." I turned on my heel and walked away. Stupid. Gorgeous. Man.

**okay, here's the second chapter, let me know what you guys think!**


	3. Chapter 3

When I finally got back to the dorm room I found Rose and Emmett with Alice and Jasper, they all turned to look at me when I b

When I finally got back to the dorm room I found Rose and Emmett with Alice and Jasper, they all turned to look at me when I barged in.

"Boys. Out." I demanded sternly, looking them both in the eye. Emmett opened his mouth but Jasper punched him on the arm and he ran out of there with him, grumbling something about "pushy little freshman" or something like that.

"So, Bella, how was your walk?" asked Alice, all innocent.

"Hmm, let me think, the campus is gorgeous, the foliage is just like they show in pictures, there's a really nice coffee cart around the corner from here and, oh yea, YOUR BROTHER PUT THE MOVES ON ME !" I roared the last part. I was practically foaming at the mouth I was so angry, who did this guy think he was?! Rosalie looked stunned, Alice did too, but in a different way.

"You mean, you didn't want to make out with him?"

"No Alice! I don't make-out with guys that I've just met!" Rosalie smiled and said,

"Oh yea Bella, we're definitely going to be good friends."

"What are you talking about?!" I asked, thoroughly confused.

Alice took a deep breath and sighed, looking at me. "Bella, when you went off with Edward tonight I really thought you were going to be just like every other bimbo whose ever met him. Most girls throw themselves at him, and he's a willing participant. He's kind-of a man-whore if you will. I thought you would spend your time with him and that would be that. I can see that your different and not like them." She smiled at me knowingly, there was something in that smile that allowed me to see right through to the wheels turning in her mind.

"I'll take that as a compliment." I joked. Okay, so Alice knew, but really, given Edward's history what else could she think? She'd known her brother all their lives and me just a few hours.

"Good, you should." Rosalie added. We sat in silence for about a minute until Rosalie asked, "So what'd he do?" They were both looking at me pretty expectantly so I gave them the play-by-play of Edward's wishful thinking.

"I mean, no matter how good-looking he is, a girl's gotta have morals !"

"Oh man Bella, you're tough." Rosalie giggled.

"Psh, of course." We sat up talking for a little while longer and then I decided it was time for bed, I would be getting up early the next day anyways.

……………………………………………….

I woke up the next morning around nine and showered and dressed, doing my best not to wake Alice. After I had my shoes on and was tip-toeing through the dorm, Alice spotted me.

"Where're you going Bella?" I'm almost certain I jumped about three feet in the air.

"Oh, Alice! You scared me! What are you doing, I thought you were still asleep?"

"Well, I'm not anymore, so what's doin? How come your dressed so nice?" She asked, eyeing me suspiciously. I was almost positive she thought I had a breakfast date that I had neglected to tell her about.

"I'm actually headed to church." Alice raised her eyebrows at me.

"No, really, where're you going?" I just looked at her.

"To church Alice." I answered.

"Oh, wow, that's definitely different." She looked at me like she was pondering something.

"Would you like to come with me?" I asked. I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me before to take Alice along, it would be great to be able to share this with her. I looked at her and her expression signified that she was deep in thought.

"You know, actually, I think I do." She said grinning. I smiled at her.

"Great. Well go change, you've got 20 minutes before we have to leave for the next service." Her eyes got huge.

"Bella. TWENTY MINUTES?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

"19 Alice, and don't worry about how you dress, God only cares what your heart looks like." I said winking. Alice smiled at me.

"You really are full of surprises, Bella Swan." She said as she skipped away.

Alice was dressed incredibly quickly and we took off for the church just around the corner.

"So have you ever been in a Catholic Church, Alice?" I asked, if not I should probably warn her she might feel like a yo-yo from time to time. It was totally worth it though.

"Yea, I was raised Catholic, I've just never been practicing… To be honest, I always hated the hymns that sounded like they were from the year 1100 and the bread that tasted like cardboard."

I laughed, that could be true of many churches.

"That's actually why I picked this church, the music here is amazing, a live band plays their songs, it's geared towards the college students which makes it that much better. The bread, well, you can't really help that, but we don't exactly eat it for the taste now do we?" I asked smiling. Alice looked up at me with that knowing grin on her face that I saw last night.

"You're right, we don't….You know Bella, I think you're going to be good for all of us, even my womanizing dolt of a brother." I thought I'd heard her mumble "Especially him." But I couldn't be sure.

We went in and got our seats, with the band doing their sound check in the background. "Bella, have you always been religious." Alice asked me.

"No, actually. To be real, I was against religion for a really long time…everything changed about two years ago… but we'll talk about it after, mass is starting."

Mass was great and it was really helping me get ready for the start of school, and from the occasional glances I threw over at Alice, I could tell she was enjoying this too.

When we left mass, we decided to get a little bite to eat from a diner across the street from the church, it was really cute and had a lot of character.

"So how'd you like Mass?" I asked Alice after the waitress had taken our orders.

"It was great, I think I'll come next Sunday too if you don't mind the company, just please wake me up before hand, you know, so I have enough time to prepare for the day," she winked "Esme would be so pleased." Alice looked off into space for a few seconds then a thought seemed to jar her back to reality.

"What did you mean by 'everything changed about two years ago' and that before you were 'completely against religion'? What happened?" she asked, and I could tell she was genuinely curious, it surprised me but at the same time tore my guard down.

"It's kind of a long story…" I trailed off blushing.

"Please tell me Bella?" Alice pleaded.

"Well…"

"Bella Swan spill your guts right now!" she demanded. Geesh, Alice was scary when she wanted something.

I'd never told anyone what I was about to tell her, no one knew except for the people who had witnessed it and gone through everything with me, not even Emmett had any clue as to what had gone on with me just a few years ago. I decided to start from the beginning, praying she wouldn't turn her back on me the minute she found out about my past, it wasn't exactly a happy place.

"Okay, well, when I was fourteen I met this guy. His name was Drew, he was sixteen, older, experienced, and gorgeous. I mean this boy was a knock-out, next to him I always felt special, he made me feel pretty. We ended up dating for almost a year. He was always a perfect gentleman around my parents but in reality he did a lot of drugs, and drank way too much. It was one of the few things that I viewed as a fault. We were out almost every night and he was always trying to get me to drink or smoke, or shoot something into me." I shuddered at how hard he'd tried to get me drunk one night, I ended up with a bottle smashed over my head, he called my parents telling them that I'd be at my friend's house where I fell asleep. In reality I spent the night at his house, that was such an awful night, but even then I couldn't bring myself to break it off with him. I continued,

"Sex was a big issue with him, after weeks of pressure I finally gave in, he was scary when he was angry and I thought that maybe if I slept with him he'd be happy more often. I was wrong. He was only momentarily happy during sex, he'd tell me he loved me, that I was the only girl for him, then the next day he'd be back to hitting me and calling me names. I really thought I loved him, but I was completely wrong. Turns out I didn't have to worry about being the one to end things, he did it for me, the day before our one year anniversary." I stopped, this is where it got really bad, this was the point in my life where most people had given up on me. I looked at Alice, and she looked like she wanted me to continue, something told me she wouldn't be like them, she'd still be here when I was done telling my story.

"That was when I lost it, I'd built my life around trying to make sure I kept Drew happy, kept Drew from being upset, I had nothing to keep me grounded when he left me. I dug myself into a hole, a really deep one with lots of booby traps and barbed wire that I never planned on getting out of, until he came and got me himself. He never did. I got into alcohol and drugs more than I ever had before, I slept around with all of his friends trying to make him jealous when really, I just became the school slut instead. I ended up in rehab by the time I was 15 after getting drunk at a bar and the bouncer having to throw me out because I picked a fight with a middle aged cross-dresser. Yea, I was a complete mess. When I finally came out I found a suitcase lying on my bed, fully packed, with a note on it saying:

_Isabella Marie Swan,_

_You're going away for this upcoming week. We're not saying where but we know this will be a good trip for you. There will be a bus coming in 3 hours. Be on that bus Isabella._

_-Renee and Charlie_

"And that was it, I thought about running away, but I knew I'd get caught and just be sent away anyhow, so I decided to go on this bus and let it take me wherever it wanted to, so long as I didn't have Drew, it didn't matter where I went, I'd still be unhappy.

"Oddly enough, my mom and dad thought it would be cute to send me on a retreat. At first I was completely horrified, where they kidding?! Seriously, the queen on anti-religious actions and the send me to a RETREAT?! I was bullshit. I always thought that Christians were crazy people who didn't know anything except what was in their precious Bible. That they didn't have any fun, that they had to be perfect, and most of all, that they were just ignorant and annoying people. I was wrong. I was so wrong it's ridiculous. These people were absolutely amazing, there was some guy jumping around in a banana suit, a live band, and lots of really interesting, not at all boring, and not at all perfect, people there. I've gone back every summer since then, I don't know what happened, I completely fell in love with the place, I stopped sleeping around and haven't since, I'm waiting for true love. I developed a relationship with God that I never dreamed possible and I'm totally comfortable with myself now, it's an amazing freedom to not have to be perfect, but to be your best. I learned that through that place, and the people there who to this day are some of my closest friends. I came home completely changed that summer, and looking back now I know it was because I had to, and it was God's plan for me." I ended, smiling, the memories of that summer still fresh as though it had been yesterday. Alice just looked at me, with an odd emotion written across her face, I couldn't tell what it was, until she came over and wrapped her arms around me.

"Bella Swan! You have no idea how glad I am to know you! You're going to be such a great influence on all of us!" I felt my eyes start getting wet with tears, she'd accepted me, not that I was that worried, but I was so used to people not accepting that side of me, and not understanding how I could live the way I do. Alice got it, I felt like she got me, I knew we'd be friends! I just knew it! Edward on the other hand…

No Bella, stop it, you can't think about that right now!

Alice finally stopped hugging me, and we went on to other subjects, school, Alice and Jasper, and finally Jacob. It was a tough subject to talk about but Alice and I were quickly becoming good friends, and I trusted her with my story. When I was finished, Alice said,

"Hot damn Bella, you suck at choosing men!" I laughed, she was right. I did suck at it, but hey, atleast I could say no. That was I was immensely proud of. Alice got a call from Rosalie asking if she and I would like to go dancing tonight to celebrate the last night before summer was officially over, we both agreed and Alice dragged me shopping, she promised nothing to revealing, but I had a feeling that she didn't really mean what she'd said. Oh well, I'd find out eventually I guess.

**I know you guys must really hate me for taking so long with this! please forgive me!**

**I'm anxious to know what you think of the OOC Bella, & if her being Christian offends you, sorry, but I won't change it. It took me a while to rest on what she was going to be like and this is how it ended up. so please no flames, just constructive criticism.**


	4. Chapter 4

So here's the next chapter, I wanted to give you guys something else to work with, keep reviewing though, it keeps me writing

**So here's the next chapter, I wanted to give you guys something else to work with, keep reviewing though, it keeps me writing! I'm going to try to be more diligent -with updating. Stick with me!**

ALICE POV

"I'm heading out for a bit, probably going to see Jasper." I told Bella once we had gotten back from shopping this afternoon. It took a lot of persuasion but Bella finally bought the outfit that I wanted her to wear tonight. Especially if my dear brother Edward would be joining us.

"Alrighty, I'm probably gonna head down to the library pretty soon anyways, either that or scourge this town for a bookstore." I smiled.

"Cool beans. Catch you later." I called as I shut the door behind me. That wasn't really a lie was it? I mean, I _am_ going to see Jasper, I'm just making a quick stop on the way. Edward really had something coming to him now that I knew more about Bella. He deserved to know just who he was dealing with, and that she happened to deserve ridiculous amounts of respect. I walked up to his door and knocked. Loudly. He opened the door, sleep still in his eyes.

"What do you want Alice?" he asked, obviously not thrilled with me interrupting his sleep.

"Can't a sister come to chat with her brother?" I asked sarcastically. I was _not_ beating around the bush here. He moved aside and as I made my way into the room.

"You've got some nerve pal." I said, he just looked at me, then the comprehension dawned on his face. "I mean, I should be used to how you are with girls and everything but honestly, I have to live with that girl. You should know better. Trying to get into her pants the first night you meet her, was probably not the best idea." I scolded. He started to get defensive, I could see it in his face.

"Now listen you-" he started to say until I cut him off.

"No you listen. You have no clue who you're dealing with when you try to screw around with Bella. Honestly, I hope you guys get to be friends because I think she's just the kind of person that will put you in your place. God knows you need it!" I decided to yank his chain just a little bit, "besides, it wouldn't have worked anyways." I stated, fighting to hide my grin.

"Excuse me? What do you mean 'It wouldn't have worked'? It _always_ works."

"Not with Bella it won't. Or should I say, it already _didn't._" Okay this was way too much fun, he was definitely squirming now.

"She wasn't thinking clearly, she'll come around." He said, more to himself than to me.

"Very unlikely, dear brother of mine." I chirped. "She's much more intelligent than you give her credit for. My brother wasn't used to hanging around with more than two smart women at a time, Rosalie and myself, unless my mother was around. This was definitely going to be a challenge for him. I was absolutely smiling by now.

"You find it funny, that I've been defeated for the first time?" he asked, angry.

"Oh, you have no idea." I said. And he didn't, I found it hilarious that my new friend could affect him in this way. I found myself wishing that they would end up together, even if all they ever were was friends, but something told me they'd end up as more than that. Bella would be just the girl to straighten Edward out, and Edward would make Bella see life differently, and he'd teach her to trust guys. It was a win-win situation, if only they could get past their past issues. It seemed so silly to me that they had "past issues" with only having met yesterday.

"Well, I'm going to see Jasper, it would do you well to think about what I said, and possibly even apologize to Bella. She's not shaken, just a bit pissed." I advised him, it wasn't like they would never see each other, she's Emmett's cousin!

"Yea, I'll think about it." The way he said it made me think that maybe he'd been doing just that before I'd arrived.

"Catch you later _Eddie_." I jeered. Serves him right.

EDWARD POV

_She's right,_ I thought, _You're going to have to see Bella all the time, might as well make good with her, right?_

I'd be lying if I said that she was just like all the other girls I'd ever gone after. That she didn't seem different, and according to Alice she was, she really was. I wasn't surprised that she and Alice were friends, it was easy to get along with Alice. What surprised me was that Alice was so willing to stick her neck out for her. Don't get me wrong, Alice is fiercely loyal, but she just met this girl yesterday_. _

I decided I needed to go look for a music store, get some new tunes to clear my head, I'd seen a music shop right next to a bookstore downtown so I decided to take the walk down there. The whole way I was going over what had happened last night, I mean, most girls were putty in my hands but she was different, she wanted nothing to do with me. I'd never be rejected before, that was my excuse for thinking about her so much, but something in me told me it ran deeper than that. Even I didn't know what that meant, and I usually know everything, or I at least pretend to know everything. I was turning around the corner when I saw Bella walking towards me, she had her iPod in her ears and didn't notice me coming. I averted my gaze in case she didn't want to see me and stopped to look in a store window. What was _wrong_ with me? How could this one girl have such an affect on me?! I mean I don't generally hide from girls, especially beautiful ones. But here I was trying to be as unnoticeable as possible. What have I stooped down to?

I saw Bella walk into the book store, and without really thinking about it, I followed her. I didn't really know what I was doing, just that I was doing something. I wanted to talk to her. This was so weird! Why did I care so much?! I really shouldn't but apparently I do. She was looking in the bestsellers section, then moved on to the classics. I saw her pick up a beautiful leather-bound copy of Pride & Prejudice. It was very expensive, probably around 200. She took a little notebook out of her tote-bag and wrote something down, before focusing on some other book I couldn't see.

I decided to go up and talk to her, I mean, what would the harm be in just talking to her, -or maybe asking for forgiveness?

BELLA POV

Did he really think I couldn't see him? He was blatantly obvious I almost wanted to laugh, but another part of me was extremely curious as to what he could possibly want. Didn't he do enough damage last night? Seriously. I was looking around in the classics section at the local bookstore, after having taken some notes for myself. The selection here was slim, but it was still pretty appetizing to a book lover like myself.

"Um… Hi Bella…" a nervous but unbelievably beautiful voice said from behind me. I knew instantly who the voice belonged to, which surprised me because I'd only met him yesterday.

"Hey Edward." I said, not turning around, I was proud of how my voice sounded, polite but cold and disinterested. In reality I was _very_ interested in what the man could possibly have to say to me.

"Could we talk?" he asked. Definitely didn't see that one coming… I turned around.

"Sure Edward, what's up?" I tried to sound mean or at the very least bored, but I couldn't do it, no matter how mad I was at him I couldn't help but be cheerful that he was talking to me. How odd is that?! We just met yesterday and it wasn't exactly the best first impression in the world!

"I wanted to talk to you about yesterday, about how I acted and treated you." He looked like a puppy with his tail between his legs. Sincerity rang in every word he said, I trusted them to be true. I sighed.

"Edward, something you're going to have to learn about me is I don't trust people easily, and I don't stand for people who take advantage of me. If you can't deal with that and respect me, then we can't be friends." I laid it right out on the line for this guy. I mean we really should be friends. It's not like we can get away from each other. Dartmouth isn't that small but we'll certainly run into each other from time to time.

"I can do that. I swear it Bella, you can trust me. I'd love to be your friend, I'll always respect you."

I considered that for a minute… it seemed as though what he was saying could be true. That what he wanted from me really could be my friendship, because we both knew I would never be one of _those_ girls. Suddenly, I wondered what was making him act this way, what had made him apologize to me. It clicked all at once. I'm sure he could read it on my face because he suddenly got confused.

"Alice talked to you, didn't she?" it wasn't really a question. He blushed, it was just a little twinge of pink but by golly he blushed! Something told me that he hadn't done that in a while. Especially in front of a girl.

"…Maybe…" I groaned.

"Somehow I'm not even surprised." I joked, and really, I wasn't. I mean, yea, she probably shouldn't have said anything but Edward was being sincere, and it looked like we could be friends, so maybe I should be thanking Alice? Maybe.

"So, do I take it you're going out with us tonight?" he asked, almost cautiously, as if completely unsure of my answer.

"What? You're going too?" now I was surprised, Alice never mentioned him coming along.

"Do you have a problem with that?" he asked, almost hurt. I shook my head somewhat violently.

"No! Oh no, I don't have a problem with that, not at all." Just make the hurt get out of your face!

"Phew, you had me going for a second." He joked.

"Haha, oh, anyways, I better get going, I'm supposed to meet Alice back at the dorms."

"Want me to walk you?" I eyed him suspiciously.

"I'll be good I promise!" he seemed somewhat offended, but jokingly so.

"I know, and yea let's go."

The walk back was nice, we talked about nothing and everything. It was so easy to talk to Edward. I couldn't remember the last time I had opened up to someone so fully and easily as I had to him and Alice. It was nice but at the same time very frightening. Jacob and Drew were the last people I talked to like this, aside from my very close family. And well, we can see how well that turned out. We ended up at my door and said our goodbyes, when I walked in I took another look at the outfit that Alice had forced me to get. I sighed. This would be a long night.


	5. Chapter 5

So don't hate me

**So don't hate me!! I know it's been months and months and months since I've last posted, but I really wanted to post again and give you all something. ** **Review? If you all haven't given up on me? That would be lovely…**

Remember Alice's promise about my outfit not being over-the-top? She lied. Big time.

"Bel-laaa!" Alice whined at me as I went through my clothes trying to find something else to wear. I would never be able to pull off that outfit. I was confident, not foolish.

"No Alice. You can't make me." I turned to her, my eyes stubborn.

"Wanna bet?" She took off running at me, the outfit clutched firmly in her hands. The look in her eyes was actually scaring the crap out of me. She _really_ wanted me to wear this outfit. We ran around the dorm for about ten minutes, throwing things to the floor climbing over beds, anything we could.

"Alice! Calm down right now! I'll sick my cousin and your brother on you! Get away from me!" I ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind me. Geez Louise that girl could run!

"Bella, check the closet in there." Alice said though the door. I was almost afraid as I opened it, seeing Rosalie holding a duplicate of the dreadful outfit Alice was currently holding on the other side of the door.

"ARE YOU FRICKING KIDDING ME YOU GUYS?!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Okay, so I was being a little dramatic, but I really did NOT want to wear that outfit!

"Bella. You **are** going to wear this outfit. You **are **going to look beautiful in it. You are going to like it. Period." Said Rose with so much authority I was afraid to disobey her. She knew it too and smiled while shoving the outfit into my arms and walking out the door. I shook my head while attempting to get into this God-forsaken dress and high-heeled shoes. Curse them. Seriously with friends with these girls who needs enemies??

They walked in and sat me on the toilet while Rose and Alice did my hair and makeup, with me fuming beneath them. They stepped back and smiled smugly when they were finished, thinking they'd done an amazing job. Well you know what after three or so hours, I better look like Ms. Freaking America's worst nightmare. I stood up and looked in the full length mirror on the door, absolutely shocked at what I looked like.

My hair was done straight but pulled back lightly with a few stray strands coming down around my face, my make up was extremely light with just eyeliner and mascara with nothing else, they didn't even use any foundation. Then I saw the dress. I think my jaw hit the floor in that moment, the dress was a dark purple color with a low cut box neck line with really thick straps that fit to almost my every curve and ended just above the knee, it fit like a glove and I'd never loved any other dress half as much. It was perfect! Then the shoes, oh those shoes. They were golden strappy high heels that matched my golden hoops and heart necklace I'd borrowed from Alice for tonight, with the way she was looking at me in them, I highly doubted she'd let me give them back.

I turned to Alice and Rose who were still just as smug as before.

"Close your mouth, bugs will fly in." Rosalie teased as Alice laughed at my expression.

"So, I love you girls, really, I do, it's ridiculous." I gushed while smiling, they really had done such a good job. "But don't you two have something else to be doing?"

They looked at each other, "Dress?" Alice asked.

"Check." Rose answered

"Shoes?"

"Check"

"Make-up"

"Check"

"Jewelry?"

"Check"

"Satisfaction with our work?"

"Oh yea, definitely check."

"Then no, we're finished, unless you can think of something?" Alice asked me.

"Yea, how about your outfits? Your makeup? Your hair?" I asked as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

A look of comprehension dawned across their faces and they took off buzzing around the room wondering whose shoes were where and which lipstick shade would match their dresses. Finally when they were ready I heard a knock at the door, "I'll get it!" I called.

"NO!" Alice and Rose both shouted their faces panic-stricken.

"I mean, let me, I'm ready." Covered Alice. I raised a suspicious eyebrow at her but let it go. I went into the next room trying to help Rosalie find her missing earring.

"Oh hey guys, come on in!" Alice welcomed our guests, who could that be?

"Thanks Ali" I know that voice. I know that voice! Why is he here?!

Oh wait, he's coming tonight. I can't believe I forgot!

But why would he be here so early? Alice was keeping something from me I could tell.

"Oh Aaalice. Get your butt in here now." I hollered out towards where they were standing. I swear I heard Emmett and Edward chuckle.

"Yes dear Bella?" she asked all innocently. Yea right, totally not buying it.

"You didn't tell me your dear brother was coming along for the ride tonight." I said while clenching my smiling teeth.

"Huh, must have slipped my mind." She shrugged.

"Bullshit. We've spent the past 5 hours with each other. Now open up buttercup." I demanded.

Rosalie looked like she wanted to laugh, while Alice looked trapped.

"Well, I figured with how gorgeous you look tonight you could surprise Edward and you guys could get closer and youmightendupinarelationshipbytheendofthenight." She rushed the last part. I caught every word though. I couldn't bring myself to be angry at her, it was just the way she was, there was no changing it.

"Fine Alice, just next time you plan on inadvertently hooking me out to your brother for the night, let the both of us know. I assume Edward isn't aware of your little matchmaking escapade scheme?" She shook her head. Called it.

"Rose, are you ready yet?" She nodded and we headed out towards the guys. I saw Edward and my jaw dropped for the second time that day. His eyes caught mine and as he looked at me his jaw dropped too, I'm pretty sure he like what he saw too. He looked so gorgeously amazingly awesomely beautifully Edward. He had a white polo with a beater underneath it with stone washed jeans with holes in the knee. He was legit perfection. With the way he was looking at me, I could tell this was going to be an interesting night.


End file.
